Walter Gallas, National Trust for Historic Preservation

1. Integrating Historic Preservation
into Disaster Planning and
Recovery
Statewide Conference on Heritage, Lancaster, PA
WALTER W. GALLAS, AICP | JULY 18, 2012

2. Lower Ninth Ward, New Orleans
• October 2005
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3. Lower Ninth Ward—October 2005
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4. Broadmoor, New Orleans—October 2005
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5. New Orleans National Register Districts

6. NR, Local, & Conservation Districts
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7. Volunteers—with Cleaning Supplies
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8. Volunteers—Clean Out and Gutting
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9. Volunteers—Checking “Red-Tags”
Houses
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10. Volunteers—House Assessments
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11. Volunteers-Home Repair
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12. FEMA-Funded Demolitions
FEMA-Funded Demolitions
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13. FEMA-Funded Demolitions
Selective Salvage
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14. FEMA-Funded Demolitions
Mar. 2006 to Oct. 2008
• 9,215 Residential Properties Proposed by the City
• 1,121 Determined to be Listed or NR Eligible
• 821 NR Listed or Eligible Removed from FEMA-
Funded Demo List
• 300 NR Listed or Eligible Properties Demolished
Using FEMA Funds
• 5,809 Total Number of FEMA-Funded Demolitions
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15. House Elevations &
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
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16. Former State Supreme Court Building
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17. State Office Building
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18. St. Frances Cabrini Church
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19. St. Frances Cabrini Church
• June 2007
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20. Louis Armstrong School (McDonogh19)
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21. Booker T. Washington High School
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22. McDonogh No. 11 School
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23. New Orleans Charity Hospital
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24. New Orleans Charity Hospital
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25. New Orleans VA Medical Center
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26. Lower Mid-City & Medical Center—
Jan ‘09
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27. Site Plan—VA and LSU Medical Centers
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28. Charity Hospital Feasibility Study
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29. Charity Hospital Feasibility Study
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30. VA MEDICAL
CENTER
“PREFERRED”
SITE
LSU MEDICAL
CENTER
VA MEDICAL
“PREFERRED”
SITE CENTER
ALTERNATIVE
SITE
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31. The Campaign for Charity Hospital
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32. The Campaign for Charity Hospital
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33. The Campaign for Charity Hospital
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34. VA Hospital Site
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35. VA Hospital Site—S. Tonti St.
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36. VA Hospital Site—Pan American Life Bldg
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37. VA Hospital Site—Dixie Brewery
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38. VA Hospital Site--Before
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39. VA Hospital Site--After
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40. LSU-VA Site--Overview
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41. Moved Houses on N. Rocheblave
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42. Moved House on S. Rocheblave
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43. SHPO Hurricane Recovery Grants (NPS)
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44. Home Again! New Orleans
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45. American Express/NTHP
Partners in Preservation
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46. American Express/NTHP
Partners in Preservation
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47. A Few Lessons Out of New Orleans
• Need for a comprehensive master plan
• Need for a historic preservation plan
• Need for a neighborhood housing plan
• Need to educate leadership about the economic
role of historic preservation in planning and
redevelopment
• Demolition can become an end in itself without
the above plans and without your leadership’s
support
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48. A Few More Lessons Out of New Orleans
• Need for a competent code enforcement office
• Need to have standards and practices in place for
building assessment, citation for violations, and
remediation
• If you must demolish, recycle as much as possible
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49. Contact Information
Walter W. Gallas, AICP
Field Director
National Trust for Historic Preservation
6401 Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19144
wgallas@savingplaces.org
Ph. 215-848-8033
www.preservationnation.org –search “disaster response”
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